Are DRK's looked down upon?

[RaineAmorie]

I'm a Lala Drk since day 1 of 3.0, and get more compliments on my Drk tanking than Pld. Pld has a shield which gives them the extra bit of mitigation, but if you're cycling your cooldowns well, and know which mobs to stun in a pack you'd be surprised how sturdy Drk can be.

Unless you're pushing content in Savage you really shouldn't worry about which tank you play. Pick a class you like and learn it, a good Drk is just as good as any other tank, and knowing your class is what really makes you shine. I've been making the double pulls in Antitower since the 2nd day and having no trouble with my HP dipping to frightening levels.

[Jpec07]

I'm a Lala Drk since day 1 of 3.0

*looks down upon in the most literal sense possible*

Oh sorry, that short joke must have gone over your head.

[SpookyGhost]

Unless you're pushing content in Savage you really shouldn't worry about which tank you play.

Even if you are, they're all perfectly viable. WAR + PLD and WAR + DRK have cleared A5-7S so far. Unfortunately PLD + DRK still isn't really a completely viable thing, but with gear it's doable.

DRK's pretty good, a lot of it's use is taken away as OT but Reprisal is really strong as MT and having access to DA + DM for certain mechanics or just magical tank busters/cleaves is ridiculously good. I'm personally still not a fan of how they designed DRK in general though, as it basically just... has CDs... which is pretty boring... but that aside, still pretty fun and entirely viable.

[Kryptoghost]

Even if you are, they're all perfectly viable. WAR + PLD and WAR + DRK have cleared A5-7S so far. Unfortunately PLD + DRK still isn't really a completely viable thing, but with gear it's doable.

DRK's pretty good, a lot of it's use is taken away as OT but Reprisal is really strong as MT and having access to DA + DM for certain mechanics or just magical tank busters/cleaves is ridiculously good. I'm personally still not a fan of how they designed DRK in general though, as it basically just... has CDs... which is pretty boring... but that aside, still pretty fun and entirely viable.

out of curiosity, why doesnt PLD and DRK work? i keep reading that. People are saying Neither has the utility to OT. What utility is required, i believe both have an AOE enmity raiser for adds.

[Jpec07]

out of curiosity, why doesnt PLD and DRK work? i keep reading that. People are saying Neither has the utility to OT. What utility is required, i believe both have an AOE enmity raiser for adds.

It's not really due to either one being particularly deficient so much as neither being able to compete with WAR in the OT spot. WAR can supply a slashing resistance debuff (which boosts DPS for DRK, PLD, WAR, and NIN), as well as a 10% reduction to outgoing damage from the boss, which outclasses both PLD and DRK--all while providing near-DPS-job-levels of DPS in Deliverance. PLD and DRK do have similar utility to the damage reduction, but they aren't as good at it unless they're MT. There's also the fact that neither can provide the slashing resistance debuff, and so without a WAR (or a NIN playing to support them), they aren't going to be able to deal as much damage.

[Kryptoghost]

It's not really due to either one being particularly deficient so much as neither being able to compete with WAR in the OT spot. WAR can supply a slashing resistance debuff (which boosts DPS for DRK, PLD, WAR, and NIN), as well as a 10% reduction to outgoing damage from the boss, which outclasses both PLD and DRK--all while providing near-DPS-job-levels of DPS in Deliverance. PLD and DRK do have similar utility to the damage reduction, but they aren't as good at it unless they're MT. There's also the fact that neither can provide the slashing resistance debuff, and so without a WAR (or a NIN playing to support them), they aren't going to be able to deal as much damage.

wow thats interesting. Sounds like WAR has become to tank to be. Back when i played my warrior i always felt like i was the lesser tank. But i was able to run pretty much anything as MT or OT.

[Februs]

Snip

It also has to do with fight designs.

Technically, Pld's actually bring a lot to the table as OT. They can Cover the MT for Tank busters, Cast DV for party wide AoE's, and free up the healer's mp pool by casting stoneskins and the odd clemency. When in the MT position, a Pld has much more time to look at the party list and decide what the best way for them to provide support is. the problem is that almost all of their support comes in the form of extra defense and mitigation, which is widely not needed.

Pld's dmg reduction utility in the OT spot is actually pretty close (if not better than) War's, especially considering most War's ignore their dmg debuff in favour of dps. So, in theory, Pld's can provide more utility in that spot. The problem is that the utility they are providing is not considered as useful as straight dps. As things are, Healers really don't need the extra help. It's nice, and I'm sure that they like it, but they don't need it. They can keep a group up just fine without a Pld. Further, the MT doesn't strictly need to be covered for tank busters. It's nice, and I'm sure that they like it, but all of the Tanks can mitigate their own dmg. The amount of extra mitigation that a Pld can provide in the OT position is not proportionate to the amount of Dps utility that a War can provide in the same spot.

When comparing War's and Pld's in OT, what it falls to is which has the higher utility ceiling, and there is no ceiling to dps. There's never a time in which someone goes, "whoa guys ... we're killing this guy too fast. Gotta slow it down," but there could very well be a time in which someone says, "err... well that DV was nice, but my Galvanize would have handled it ..." Extra Dps is always considered an asset. The same cannot be said for extra mitigation. There's a limit to how much extra mitigation is actually required before it's just overkill or no one even notices it, so as long as that is the only thing that Pld's bring to OT, they will never be considered favourable in that role over War's.

[Violette]

It's not really due to either one being particularly deficient so much as neither being able to compete with WAR in the OT spot. WAR can supply a slashing resistance debuff (which boosts DPS for DRK, PLD, WAR, and NIN), as well as a 10% reduction to outgoing damage from the boss, which outclasses both PLD and DRK--all while providing near-DPS-job-levels of DPS in Deliverance. PLD and DRK do have similar utility to the damage reduction, but they aren't as good at it unless they're MT. There's also the fact that neither can provide the slashing resistance debuff, and so without a WAR (or a NIN playing to support them), they aren't going to be able to deal as much damage.

And a 450 potency smack to the face. Never forget the smack to the face.

But given tank's damage reduction the lack of ninja in favour of dragoon or monk isn't as harsh as it was in 3.15.

War also has their main soft cooldown on a 20s(at worst) cd and equilibrium.